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John C. Gambill

One of the treasures of Lamar County is the Gambill Goose Refuge, founded by John C. Gambill in the fall of 1922 when a flock of Canadian Geese landed on his 600-acre farm northwest of Paris, Texas, in the Hopewell area.  I remember the original farm, which was a wildlife refuge, because Jim Bob (Sally) Gambill, and I were school friends,  and I loved to go out there with her. He had all kinds of injured and recovering birds and animals caged around the house, forming a sort of compound. However, it was Mr. Gambill’s wish that his geese, especially, would be cared for after he was gone, which led to the establishment of the Gambill Goose Refuge on Lake Gibbons. The flocks of geese which had come to the Gambill farm each winter were successfully lured to the refuge on the lake.
Few know that in 1976, the goose refuge was to be eliminated from the Texas wildlife management plan, but Sen. A.M. Aikin, Jr.’s reputation as dean of the Texas Senate and guardian of the appropriations bill saved the 2,000 geese at the refuge.

When the Director of Wildlife included the Gambill Goose Refuge among items to be cut, Commissioner Jack Stone of Wells asked, “Have you talked to Sen. Aikin about this?” When he replied that he had not, Stone suggested that he “do so.”

At a briefing shortly after, Stone again asked if the matter had been cleared by Aikin. Receiving a negative reply, Stone said he didn’t think it was good politics and that “you can’t take all the politics out of something like this.” Stone continued, saying “Sen Aikin has told me, ‘Leave my area alone.’” Stone said, “Those people up there like to drive out and watch them feed those geese.”In the end, the goose refuge stayed, and studies of deer environments and food plots were eliminated.

During my recovery from surgery two years ago, my brother drove me all over the county trying to entertain me, and we drove out to the goose refuge more than once. He took many good pictures, but we were never able to see the huge clouds of geese that I remember from childhood. I guess it was the wrong time of the year.

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